The new Istanbul International Airport represents a vast improvement over the old Istanbul Atatürk International Airport. With improvements come additional space and amenities. The iGA Sleepod Istanbul is one of these improvements. The iGA Sleepod offers a capsule hotel where you can visit by the hour and obtain a fully flat sleep or nap within the secure side of the airport concourse. How would the iGA Sleepod Istanbul fare on our visit ?

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This post is one chapter on our trip to Jordan, Israel and France during the end of the pandemic. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards and Alaska Mileage Plan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: iGA Sleepod – Istanbul International Airport, Turkey

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This review is of the iGA Sleepod – Istanbul International Airport.

For a review of other lounges and amenities in the Istanbul International Airport, please see our review of the Turkish Airlines Lounge Business Istanbul, Turkish Airlines Lounge Miles & Smiles, and the affiliated The iGA Lounge Istanbul Airport.

About the iGA Sleepod:

The iGA Sleepod is a new concept sleep cocoon that allows travellers to get some rest in between their flights while transiting Istanbul International Airport. It is marketed as “a special private place to get some rest at the airport whenever you want“.

There are twenty five private cabins available. The cabins can not be booked or reserved in advance, which makes this a bit of a chance oriented experience.

It’s also worth noting that there is an in – terminal airside Yotel that offers hotel style dormitory accommodation, should the iGA Sleepod location be full.

Locating the iGA Sleepod:

IGA Sleepod describes the location of it’s iGA Sleepod as “an easily accessible location at the calmest spots of the airport”. Per the map, it is located in a very central part of the airport, near the “D” Concourse.

The practical realities of locating the iGA Sleepod Istanbul were a little more complicated.

After arriving off of Turkish Airlines Business Class Tel Aviv – Istanbul flight, we re-cleared security and headed up to the departures level at Istanbul International Airport.

Compared to the old Istanbul Atatürk International Airport, the new Instanbul International Airport is a much larger and more beautiful space. The retail area in the main part of the terminal is glamourous.

Despite this, I don’t find that the iGA Sleepod was very well sign posted. At the time of my visit, I didn’t have the benefit of knowing the location on a map in advance.

The Istanbul International Airport retail section is sort of like a casino, in that it’s designed to keep you corralled in the shopping zone, and not spending time elsewhere in it’s lounges or nearby your departure gates.

Eventually, I located this direction sign which offered the direction towards the sleep pods in the bottom centre. I followed the directions, but unfortunately, that led me to a decision maker back channel concourse with an unsigned left or right choice and no obvious sleep pod location.

I didn’t know if I was looking for a hotel type of entry lobby, or a series of tents set up on the concourse retail space. As a result, I obtained directions and was eventually led to the top of Concourse “D” at the Istanbul International Airport.

I eventually found the iGA Sleepod Istanbul located right on the concourse walkway, tucked away in the left hand corner of the upper “D” Concourse.

Accessing the iGA Sleepod Istanbul:

The iGA Sleepod Istanbul is priced on a per hour basis.

The pricing for an iGA Sleepod is tiered:

• Day time stays (between 7 AM – 7 PM) are worth 8€ ($8.50 USD) an hour
• Night time stays (between 7 PM – 7 AM) are worth 11€ ($11.75 USD) an hour.
• There is an additional charge of 3€ ($3.20 USD) for a blanket, additional pillow or pillowcase. The charges are per item.

The price point was cleverly priced to substitute for a hotel. At a six hour visit consistent with a longer nap, you’d be bumping up on rates of 66€ ($70 USD) for your stay. While cheaper than a hotel, you wouldn’t necessarily get the benefits of a hotel such as a shower or space to privately change.

By way of comparison, the Yotel Istanbul Airside offers rates between 230€ and 300€ based on advance reservations for a full overnight’s stay. The IGA Sleepod offers no reservations, so it’s clearly designed for a spur of the moment type of walk in customer.

I visited the iGA Sleepod today courtesy of Priority Pass Select, granted through a membership with my American Express Platinum Card. Priority Pass offers it’s members a complimentary three hour stay; a value of between 24 and 36 € dependent on your time of visit.

Inside the iGA Sleepod:

After verifying my membership at the front reception and the length of time I intended to stay, I was assigned Sleepod #12.

I was led over by a member of reception to my freshly cleaned blue iGA Sleepod. The iGA Sleepods look like blue oval cocoons in a row of cocoon farms parked in the corner of the Istanbul International Airport.

The iGA Sleepods are prepared for one person and come with a basic top fitted sheet. There is a small crest in the mattress at the top end of the sheet. If you wish for a proper pillow, that would be an extra 3€ charge.

There is a little space around the iGA Sleepods, but not a whole lot. There is a small compartment for baggage, but I ended up taking valuables into the iGA Sleepod with me.

There is a communal stand up shower like changing facility, where you can draw a curtain and change out of travelling clothes into sleep clothes.

Clambering inside the iGA Sleepod, you’ll find yourself in a compact capsule hotel type of space. For those that are claustrophobic, this probably isn’t your ideal cup of tea.

The iGA Sleep pod offers a charging station for both European Plugs and two USB charging ports. This is perfect for charing your devices while you rest.

The view from within the iGA Sleepod isn’t exactly glamourous. It’s more a functional environment as you rest inside and start the process to cocoon yourself.

Closing the lid, you’ll find that you have some vents to allow for fresh air to circulate. As a side sleeper during the daytime, it was still a little bright inside a fully closed IGA Sleepod and you may wish to bring a sleep mask with you if you prefer a fully dark sleep experience.

The Sleep Experience:

What kind of sleep can you expect within an iGA Sleepod?

As someone that likes a lot of fresh air when they sleep, I found the air circulation within the iGA Sleepod to be a little stuffy. I enjoy sleeping with a window open at home, so having all air circulation coming in and out of my sleeping area through tiny vents wasn’t exactly my ideal sleep environment.

In terms of noise levels inside the iGA Sleepod, it is a bit of a muffled concourse sound. While the capsule does insulate you from most concourse noise, you can still hear muffled concourse announcements from within the sleep pod. It’s worth mentioning that the Istanbul International Airport has high ceilings, which does make public address announcements echo down the concourse.

As a lightish sleeper, this is something that would take a little getting used to as I drift off to a deep sleep. Your better sleep will occur here if you’re already tired and perhaps impacted by time zone changes since the environment isn’t exactly sterile or fully quiet.

Between the muffled ambient noise, the confined space and the stuffy air, this wouldn’t be my first choice for sleeping. Despite this, there are times when you arrive at an airport and are looking for an alternative to an airport bench. This might fit the bill accordingly.

I had a quick visit within the iGA Sleepod prior to heading off on a Turkish Airlines Business Class Istanbul – Paris flight.

My Thoughts on the iGA Sleepod:

Cleverly spaced between a proper hotel, the nearby Yotel Istanbul, the iGA Sleepod offers a capsule hotel experience within the Istanbul International Airport.

While the iGA Sleepod doesn’t offer showers, or your own private “in room” space, it does offer a flat bed for those that are looking for an alternative to an airport bench.

While it wouldn’t be my first choice for a layover, the price point won’t break the bank. If you’re unlucky enough to be stuck at Istanbul International Airport on a 6 – 8 hour layover, this is clearly an option that I’d recommend exploring.

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If you connect through Istanbul International Airport, does the iGA Sleepod represent value to you ?

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